Judge orders Christian Porter to give up barrister Sue Chrysanthou

Christian Porter and the ABC will sit down to strike a deal just as he loses his prized barrister Sue Chrysanthou.

Christian Porter and the ABC will sit down to strike a deal just as he loses his prized barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC in a legal blow that could drastically alter the path of his lawsuit against the public broadcaster.

Meanwhile the woman who successfully unseated the politician’s barrister has refuted claims she and her friend were on a crusade because she “would never join a cult led by a Macquarie banker”.

The former Attorney-General is suing the ABC for defamation claiming they identified him as the “senior cabinet minister” accused of historic rape in a Four Corners broadcast last year.

He strenuously denies all the allegations while his accuser, Kate, took her own life in June 2020 after declining a formal interview with NSW detectives.

The Federal Court, on Thursday, postponed administrative hearings in the high profile defamation case then said both parties could provide unredacted documents to an appointed mediator.

The ABC, in a statement, confirmed the parties would sit down on Friday.

Mediation, if successful, likely means the matter will never go to trial.

It came after Jo Dyer, a friend of Mr Porter’s accuser, told the court ABC journalist Louise Milligan instructed her to delete encrypted messaged about the allegations.

The journalist spoke with Ms Dyer on WhatsApp days after Kate died before switching to Signal — Ms Dyer said she’d been reminded by Ms Milligan to delete messages at some stage.

“I think there was a hope I’d delete (messaged) as we went along,” Ms Dyer said.

“I did not take that care with the messages and I did delete them en masse some months ago.”

Sue Chrysanthou leaves the Supreme Court in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

That evidence emerged in the separate court challenge that successfully saw Ms Chrysanthou kicked off the case on Thursday evening.

Ms Dyer said she and Kate’s former boyfriend, Macquarie Bank executive James Hooke, met with Ms Chrysanthou for about an hour in November 2020 to discuss suing The Australian over their commentary on the explosive allegations.

Ms Dyer argued Ms Chrysanthou could use “confidential information” from the November meeting to help Mr Porter win his defamation claim and asked the Federal Court to prevent the barrister from acting in the case.

“I have concluded there is a danger of misuse of confidential information received by Ms Chrysanthou,” Justice Tom Thawley said on Thursday.

“A fair minded person of the public would say Ms Chrysanthou should not act for Mr Porter.”

Ms Dyer, outside court, said her interactions with Ms Chrysanthou before the challenge were professional and she was disappointed it ended up in court.

She thanked her lawyers and said she and Mr Hooke had discussed which of them would run a cult.

“James would join a cult of which I was leader, I would never join a cult led by a Macquarie banker,” she said.

One day earlier Ms Chrysanthou told the court she was warned Kate’s friends were “behaving like a cult” and would make life bad for her if she took Mr Porter as a client.

Ms Dyer said it was ironic the behaviour of both her and Mr Hooke had been described like “cult” given they were motivated by the need to seek justice for their friend, Kate.

“For us this case has been marked by a profound sadness and loss – the absence of Kate,” she said.

Ms Dyer said Kate had been silenced, there was no real investigation into her allegations.

“We continue to believe a defamation case is not the appropriate forum for her story to be tested,” she said.

She called on the Prime Minister and Minister for Women Marise Payne to vote for a bill to establish an investigation led by a retired judge.

Former Attorney-General Christian Porter in Parliament House on May 26. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Justice Thawley, in his judgment, noted Ms Chrysanthou could not recall the confidential information but he said there’s a chance her memory could be revived or she could be subconsciously advantaged.

“In representing Mr Porter, Ms Chrysanthou has been subject to great pressure but has provided her services fearlessly,” Mr Porter’s lawyer Rebekah Giles said in a statement.

“Mr Porter wishes to thank Ms Chrysanthou for her efforts. She is an outstanding and dedicated lawyer, a true leader in her field.”

The removal of Ms Chrysanthou, the politician’s lawyers had warned, would bring serious consequences for the case against the ABC and infringed on Mr Porter’s right to select his own legal defenders.

It’s unclear what impact it could have on the mediation process.

The court heard, earlier this week, her removal could jeopardise Mr Porter’s chances of clearing his name within the year even with the trial being fast tracked through the courts.

The Porter v ABC lawsuit is expected to return to court next week without Ms Chrysanthou in attendance.

Ms Dyer indicated she would pursue costs to be paid by Mr Porter’s camp but that has yet to be heard.